HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth volleyball team concluded the two-day Big Green Invitational with a split on Saturday inside Leede Arena. The Big Green (4-2) opened the day with a 3-1 victory against Providence, but fell to Grand Canyon in five sets in the nightcap.

In the opener, Dartmouth scored a come-from-behind triumph thanks to Paige Caridi and match-high 16 kills. After dropping the first game, 25-23, to the Friars the Big Green responded with a dominant 25-15 win in game two.

The defense was once again stout versus Providence as they produced 11 team blocks and 84 digs. Holly Harper led the way with 19 digs while Caridi added 17 and Kayden Cook had 13 of her own.

Besides Caridi, the team from the Upper Valley had offensive help from junior co-captain Lucia Pohlman, who produced eight kills while freshman Danielle Glinka added nine. Cook played well from her position at setter with 37 assists.

In the tournament finale, Dartmouth played its most dramatic match of the young season as Grand Canyon forced a decisive fifth game. Late in the fourth, the Green and White held a 21-18 advantage, but the Lopes weren’t ready to head back across the country quite yet as they reeled off seven straight points to win the game.

During the fifth stanza, the two squads traded blows early and with the score 6-4 in the Lopes favor, the visitors produced a quick run of points to take 10-6 lead. Trailing by four, Dartmouth battled back to eventually tie the game at 12-12 thanks to a kill by Kaira Lujan.

Down the stretch, the Grand Canyon attack took over as the Lopes scored three of the last four points to escape Hanover with their third victory of the season.

Against Grand Canyon, Caridi once again paced the offensive attack with a season-high 24 kills. Senior co-captain Elisa Scudder added 11 kills and Alex Schoenberger had her best game of the year, recording 10 kills. Cook was the leading table setter as she dished out a match-best 52 assists.

The contest against Grand Canyon was the Big Green’s first five-game match of the season. During the Providence affair early in the day, Scudder had a season-high .714 attack percentage. The win against Providence matches the team’s largest winning streak (five games) under head coach Erin Lindsey.

A three-way tie for first was decided by point differential, helping the home team take the top spot. Dartmouth finished the weekend first based on a 1.14 figure, Grand Canyon was second with a 1.12, while Central Connecticut had a 1.06.

Dartmouth returns to the court Sept. 20 when it welcomes UConn, Rhode Island, in-state rival New Hampshire and national powerhouse Minnesota to Hanover for the Dartmouth Duels. The two-day event features 10 matches, the games get underway on Friday at 10:00 a.m. and Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Leede Arena.